Program Requirements

A student must maintain at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average in the M.S. in Childhood Education/Literacy (Birth – Grade 6) Program. Any student whose cumulative grade point average falls below 3.00 will be evaluated by the Academic Standing Committee of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, issued a letter of warning, and placed on probation. A student on probation who fails to bring his or her average up to 3.00 in the succeeding semester may be dropped from the program. In addition, a student who receives grades below B in two graduate courses is considered to have an academic deficiency. A third grade below B, after the student receives a formal warning of the deficiency, may cause the student to lose matriculated status or be dropped from the program.

New York State Certification Requirements

Other Requirements

You must complete all the course work listed in your Degree Requirements and achieve an overall G.P.A. of 3.0 or higher.

You must participate in a minimum of 120 hours of Field Experience, prior to Student Teaching.

You must pass the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations (NYSTCE) Liberal Arts and Sciences Test (LAST)/Assessment of Teaching (LAST/ATS-W/CST). For complete information about the New York State Teacher Certification Exams, visit the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations Web site.

In order to student teach or receive your New York State teaching certificate or apply for employment in a school district, charter school or boards of cooperative educational services (BOCES), New York State requires you to satisfy a Fingerprint Investigation for a criminal history background check. LIU Post recommends that you participate in the fingerprinting prior to student teaching. Visit the “Fingerprinting” section of the New York State Education Department Web site for more information and directions on how to apply. If you are a certified teacher who has already been fingerprinted by the New York State Education Department database before July 1, 2001, you do not need to be reprinted.

You must participate in Student Teaching for one semester, full-time. This generally occurs mid-way in your program of study.